I Am Galbatorix
by Garnet-Princess
Summary: What of Galbatorix - tyrant-king of Alagaesia? Does he have a history of his own. When things were at the hardest, what drove him on? Has he ever loved and been loved? All about Galbatorix. Read to find out. Rated T to be safe. PLZ REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1: Do not mourn me

**DISCLAIMER 4 Most characters belong to Christopher Paolini, but Rewkri, Eliene, and Windin etc. are mine.3**

_Galbatorix, wake up!!!_ Jarnunvösk yelled in my head. _We've been ambushed by urgals!_

I leapt to my feet, reaching for my sword and was just in time to block a blade about to behead me. _Jarnunvösk, are you hurt? _I demanded.

_Just a few scratches,_ she replied, _but the others have not fared so well. Eliene and Windin are badly wounded, and Rewkri..._ She sent me a mental picture of a silver-haired elf, lying in a pool of her own blood. Rewkri. I felt my heart give a sudden jump. No, it can't be!

_But she was to be my mate!_ I gasped. Of course, I hadn't gotten around to telling her that yet, but I always knew that she was the one for me.

_Galbatorix, no! A battle is raging around us – there is no time for that!_

_But she might still be saved!_

_As you wish, Rixy._

I weaved through the crowd of urgals, jabbing and slashing. And there she was. Forming an invisible barrier to shield us, I placed my hands on her chest, and concentrated. All of a sudden, an arrow whizzed just above my head. Why wasn't my shield deflecting them? _The arrows are enchanted!_ I realized.

And then, _Rixy, behind you!_ I turned to find an urgal pointing his arrow straight at me. It pulled back its arm, and shot. Before I could react, Jarnunvösk leapt in to intervene, and the deadly dart caught her in the throat.

_Jarnunvösk!!!_ I wailed, _Don't die!_

A wave of exhaustion, warmth, and love passed through our mental connection. _It is my time, Rixy. Do not mourn me..._


	2. Chapter 2: Give me a new dragon

Alone.

Alone.

I felt as if half myself had died.

And I was alone.

Alone!

Jarnunvösk!!!

Jarnunvösk partner-of-my-mind-and-heart, come back, don't leave me.

I love you, Jarnunvösk!

And worst of all, I knew that it was all my fault. My fault that I'd been too stubborn when my dragon had told me that it was too dangerous to rescue the elf. The elf. I will never speak her cursed name again. Losing her was a little more than a pebble compared to losing Jarnunvösk. Jarnunvösk had died protecting me. At first all I wanted to die and be reunited with her again. But then, she wouldn't have wanted that. She had sacrificed herself so that I could live, and her sacrifice should not be in vain. The more I thought about, the more I knew what I was to do.

"Give me a new dragon." Those were the first words I spoke when I woke in Illeria. "Please, give me a new dragon."

**Sorry, this chapter is kind of short. Love it? Hate it? PLZ REVIEW!!! Just press the magic green button!**


	3. Chapter 3: Even after all these years

They say that bonding with a human/elf softens the dragon's nature. It has always been the other way around with Jarnunvösk and me. She was the gentler one, and unusually compassionate for a dragon. I was the raging fire, forever yearning for battle and blood-shed. Without her peaceful waves to dull my flames, I became... wild.

When they did not allow me a new dragon, all that madness that had been building up within me erupted. I swore on my deceased dragoness that I would have my revenge. And thus with the help of Morzan, I stole the black hatchling Shruikan from under their very noses. That night, I used a spell that I'd created and bound myself to the hatchling.

But try as I might to gain his confidence, Shruikan never loved me. All he knew was that I had killed his original rider and that he will never forgive me. It hurts. Over the years, I gradually gained some ground, but I know that that Shruikan will never love me as my Jarnunvösk loved me. He would never have jumped in front of harm's way for me as Jarnunvösk had done. And it still pains me. Even after all these years...

**Thanks for the reviews! Remember R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4: I do this for you

I was in a green meadow. All around me were hundreds, if not thousands of dragons and riders. In the midst of them all, glistening like a diamond in the electric blue sky, was the fairest dragon of them all.

_Rixy,_ the dragoness soothed, _we will meet again, in a place where riders spend eternity with their dragons. _

_Jarnunvösk! I've missed you so much!_

_You must go now, Rixy._

_Why? We've just been reunited._

_You must, Rixy. This place is for the dead. If you stay for too long, you shall fade away. Good-bye!_ And with that she and the meadow disappeared into the oblivion of my dreams.

When I woke again, I felt a sharp pang in my chest. I could have sworn that my heart was bleeding – bleeding away my life, my soul, my very being. Jarnunvösk's words still echoing inside my skull, I pulled on my black armour. I was to challenge Vrael in less than an hour. Jarnunvösk, I do this for you. I do this for you...


	5. Chapter 5: May the best rider prevail

Pain flashed across Vrael's face as he held his silver sword above my broken heart. He hesitated for but one moment, but it was enough, and I kicked him between the legs. He rode off on his dragon to recover

I found him again, hiding in a cave, and I slew him. He could have had me back then, but he had been too weak to strike for the final time. I laughed in his face as I loped off first his hand, then his head. "May the best rider prevail!" I had smirked as I swung my sword for the killing blow. He had stared at me and finally found my madness.

That night, I once again came to Jarnunvösk in my dreams, but she turned her back on me. I called her name over and over again, but she continued on ignoring me. Finally, I gave up and left.

I woke crying that morning. My pillow case was wet with salty tears. I felt a deep dull ache in my chest. It was not the sharp pain of a blade being driven into your flesh, nor the crushing agony of having a hand smashed by a hammer, but it was like being burned alive. But I must not be weak. May the best rider prevail…


	6. Chapter 6: I felt no triumph

When the Ra'sak killed Brom, I felt no triumph, only a deep hole that I was teetering on the brink of. My legs felt shaky and numb. If someone stuck a pin in, I wouldn't bleed. Any minute I would slip or lose my balance and fall into the bottomless abyss below. Of course, Brom and I were rivals. He fought to dethrone me, while I destroyed parts of his beloved Varden. But for two men who were never friends, we were similar in so many ways.

We'd both lost our dragons shortly after the completion of our apprenticeships. His Saphira had died foor him as my Jarnunvösk had for me. And it nearly killed us.

In a way, I held a grudging admiration from Brom. He was no coward, unlike those other wretches who called themselves riders. Against all odds, he'd killed Morzan.

He was the gentler version of me. Driven by the shock of losing our dragons, we've fought for what we believed in. I chose the dark, while he, the light.

When the Ra'sak killed Brom, I felt no triumph...


	7. Chapter 7: In my dream

In my dream, I fell off the edge and was clinging on the fringe with all my might. I hung there, desperately hanging on for what felt like an eternity. I was tired, hungry, and badly wounded. My throat burned from thirst. My fingers ached, the tips oozing thick sticky blood. But I couldn't let go, because I knew the day I did would be the day I finally died.

In my dream, I felt my grasp slip, until I was digging my nails into the cracks of the rock. "Rïsa!" I cried, reaching for the flow of magic, but there was nothing.

In my dream, the sun began to rise and a diamond dragoness swooped from the sky. She dived under me just as my finges finally gave away. _Jarnunv__ösk!_ I cried, shedding tears of both misery and joy. _Where have you been all ths time?_

_Rixy,_ she hummed. _Rixy, I've been waiting for you. You can;t stay long, but let us sail the skies together just once more._

She dived steeply then shot back up into the sky. And there we hovered for a time, masters of the sky. _Rixy,_ she finally whispered,_ I must go now._

_Why? _I howled. _Don't leave me! Please._

_I have never truly left you, Rixy._ And with that, she was gone. I found myself back in my bed, trying to strangle my sheets. It had all been in my dream...


	8. Chapter 8: A man without a heart

And then Thorn hatched for Murtagh and I did not know whether to laugh or cry. Wasn't it ironic that the son of my slave, Morzan, should serve me too? And as a rider, as well. Sometimes, I wonder if I should just kill them myself – I hate them so much. Thorn and Murtagh, a mirror image of what I once was. But it would be much quicker for them than for me – one of the words of death, a slash of a sword, or even a stab of a pin in the right spot would do the trick.

It would be so much less painful than slowely wasting away inside until you are nothing but an empty shell. No, not dead, but not quite alive either. What's an egg without a yolk? What's a sword without a blade? No, not a sword without a blade – I still have my lethal edge, but a sword without an arm to wield it.

So, answer me this – what is a man without a heart? A man without a heart...


	9. Chapter 9: A trace of decency

While the blue dragon and rider were away to attend their mentor's funeral, I attacked the Varden's camp. Just as I stood before the gates of Feinster, someone blocked my way.

A child stood before me, her violet gaze met mine. "I am Elva Shiningbrow," she told me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard her terrible voice. ""I make you uncomfortable. You are frightened of me."

"Frightened?" I laughed, "I am Galbatorix, and I fear no man alive!"

Elva's blood-red lip twisted in a sneer. "I frighten you, Galbatorix. Or shall I say 'Rixy'?" I froze. My blood ran cold. "Yes, I can read you mind. Delve into your deepest memories. I know you worst nightmares." I immediately reinforced the barrier in my mind. "That won't work, Rixy."

I gathered up my courage. "Run, child, run! Run, while you still can! Run, before I hurt you!"

She smiled up at me ever so sweetly. "Oh, I don't believe you'll do that, Rixy."

"Then, what do you believe, Elva?" I jeered.

She walked right up to me, reached up, placing her tiny hand on my cheek."I believe that you are just a man who'd lost everything he'd ever loved, and was taking it out on a world that had shown him so little kindness. I believe that under all those layers of deviousness, there is a trace of decency."

Her words echoed in my head – a trace of decency... A trace of decency...


	10. Chapter 10: Had a family once

"You had a family once, do you still remember them?" asked the witch child.

I did.

"Rixy! Rixy, wait up!" a little girl called. She was about two or three years old, curly brown hair bouncing up and down as she ran. And with one giant leap, she fell into my arms.

I laughed. "Now, Annie, you know you can;t come with me to school."

Her little facefell, "Why not?" she demanded.

"Because you're not old enough, Annie."

"You can bring me for show-and-tell!" she said, wiggling in my arms.

There was no arguing with her, I sometimes wonder why I even tried. I decided to put her off. "Maybe tomorrow, alright? We'll have to ask the mother first." I set set her gently on the ground, patting her on the head fondly.

But tomorrow never came, not for my little sister anyways. I came home to ruins that day. The whole house had been burned to ashes. It was the working of rogue dwarves, they say. And then the riders came, and took me away.

I think I would have gone mad, if Jarnunvösk had not hatched for me. She'd been my candle in that endless night, but now, she's gone too.

I had a family once...


	11. Chapter 11: Loved a woman once

"You loved a woman once, do you still remember her face?"

He did.

"Rewkri," I whispered. She whirled around, reaching across her body for her sword. The elf practically glowed in the moonlight – silver hair gleaming like polished silver. All I could do was stare, like a starving man at a feast.

Her face lit up in a smile. "Rixy," she laughed, "Are you spying on me? Again." I felt a blush creeping up onto my cheeks. "You are! Don't lie, Rixy, you're not very good at it! Are those for me?"

I nodded, handing her the small bouquet of enchanted flowers I held in my hand. She brought it to her nose, and breathed in their perfume. "Thank you," she whispered. "I don't recogonize this breed of flower, what are they called?"

I smiled slyly. "Whatever you wish to call them. I created these for you."

I don't know how it happened, but all of a sudden, my lips were pressed into hers. I don't know who made the first move... It could have been both of us at once.

"Let's call them... the glory-of-the-sky, shall we?"

I remember her lying there on that fateful night, covered in blood. And I let out a pain-filled shriek. I sank to my knees and groaned. "Rewkri," I whispered, saying the name for the first time in nearly one century. My cheeks felt damp, and I reached up to feel the tears. I said it again, tasting it slowly.

I loved a woman once...


	12. Chapter 12: Had a master once

"You had a master once, do you still remember his name?" asked Elva.

I did

Vrael, the honourable leader of the riders. My master and my friend.

I couldn't swim, never could. One day, during my lessons, I fell into a nearby river. It was dark under here. I couldn't breathe. Water seeped through my noses and mouth, and into my lungs. "Rïsa!" I screamed, but it came out as a gurgle. This was before I learned to use magic without speaking. Ifelt dark fear begin to claw at my chest. Stars danced before me in the murky water.

_Galbatorix! Galbatorix!_ Jarnunvosk screamed in my mind, she was too far off to come to my rescue.

Then suddenly, strong arms grabbed me and towed me to the surface. I coughed and wheezed, water streaming out my nose. When I finally finished throwing up, I'd collapsed on the river-bank. "I'm sorry," I'd whispered.

"No, I'm sorry," said Vrael, kneeling by my side, "I didin't realize you couldn't swim."

He'd been a kind man. I remembered my last cruel words to him. I'd laughed while I'd lopped of his head. I remember how he'd spared me on our second to last encounter. "What are you going to do Vrael? You can't kill a dead man – and I died the day my dragon died." He'd stood above me, confusion and guilt on his fair elven face.

I'd had a master once...


	13. Chapter 13: Take me instead

I gasped. My head jerked up. I was on my knees, forehead resting on Elva's shoulder but a few moments before. Her lips parted in a smile. Behind her, the whole of the Varden stood, spears pointed straight at me. I quickly rose to my feet. Their spears shattered as i snapped my fingers. "You!" I snarled at the little girl who stood before me. "You put me up to this!" I raised my sword, ready to strike, then lowered it again. This girl could be very useful to me. Ropes sprung up from the ground and bound legs at the knees, so she could not run, but still walk. "Come with me, little girl," I told her in my best honey-and-sugar voice. I almost winced myself.

She shook her head ever so slightly. I let out an exasperated noise. Grabbing her by the hair, I started dragging her toward where Shruikan awaited.

"Stop!" It was a woman's voice – commaning, sharp, and strong. The Varden's leader stepped forward. "Take me instead!" Well, that was a dileema. A girl who could find fear int he hearts of men, even my own, or the leader of the Varden. I decided that Nasuada was more valuable. In an instant, the ropes that had bound Elva disappeared and then reformed around my new captive.

"Fine. I will take you instead."


End file.
